We're No Stranger to Scandal Either

From Br. Caelius' blog, a disturbing bit of news.

I note that one person commented at Titus 1:9 that this was because of loosening of morals, discipline, and dogma, blah, blah, blah. The underlying hint as it always is at that blog is to blame homosexuals and homosexuality--always the first scapegoat of the rest of the Church these days whenever and wherever there is trouble or disagreement or when scandal hits the fan. Nonsense.

The evidence on a societal whole within sociology and psychology do NOT suggest such findings. Quite the opposite. Most molesters of boys and girls identify as heterosexual, and are by-and-large, men. And not all faithful homosexual Christians are undisciplined in our sex lives, immoral in how we treat our neighbors as ourselves, or theologically woowoo. The opposite can be said just as easily about heterosexuals. This is dividing wall behaviors and mentalities designed to solve a problem the old-fashioned satanic way rather than face that all have fallen short of the glory of God, including married heterosexuals who never stray, are doctrinally pure, und so weite. This is about heaping blame rather than solving a problem constructively together.

Scandals like these occur because of lack of accountability and transparency on the part of our leadership. Both liberal and conservative, progressive and traditional Christians can be guilty of such. Look at the scandal now hitting the founder of Regnum Christi and the Legionaires of Christ in the Roman Catholic Church. Orthdox. Rigid. Moralistic. Failure to take repsponsibility. These too can be markers of the left and right, and often go hand-in-glove with lack of accountability and transparency. And, I might add both go with an "Good Ole Boys Club " mentality that is not the domain of the Roman Church alone, but infects most of Christendom, including the Episcopal Church. And that the female equivalent, "the Good Ole Girls Club" that I've encountered a few times of late isn't any better, but what makes it sometimes less easily challenged is a certain understanding found in some strands of feminism that essentialize that somehow women are relational, radically different from male ways of power, and therefore, are less susceptible to abuses thereof. Again, experience shows men and women can abuse power. This is something we are all susceptible to do. In terms of ecclesiology such markers are askew, and show a distinct lack of right ordering in the life of the Church where the laity are too often absent from the counsels of the Church and checks and balances that recognize that kyros, lordly power in the Christian sense, is limited, accountable, compassionate power.

Let me put it bluntly. This priest broke his marriage vows. Knowing human beings, a common enough thing I suppose, but serious, perhaps not serious enough to lead to defrocking, but if public, certainly to discipline. Breaching his relationship with a very young adult parishioner in counseling by becoming sexual with her, however, is serious enough for defrocking. Involving her in a threesome with his wife. Forced himself (read raped) upon her. Involving a 13 year old in any sexual activity is rape of a minor. The whole bit continues with other threesomes, paying for an abortion for an 18 year old woman. This man should have been investigated thoroughly and if the allegations were true, he should have been removed for the sake of the flock.

Moving him about knowing there are these problems and allegations without a thorough investigate to clear him or to bring him to trial becomes the responsibility of the bishop, the presybteral council, and the laity. That bishops may have colluded in this is damnable.

Scandal, from the Greek, meaning stumbling block, this is truly of that sort and imperils the Gospel of God's love. And in our tendency to place clergy on the pedastal or the cross, we end up with the typical reaction. One of the most troubling aspects of these sorts of scandals is how the laity often side with the abuser at all costs. Identification with the priest or bishop becomes almost pro forma, and the victim(s) are demonized. Later on, they tend to turn on all priests and bishops without distinction as recognition sets in that the one on the pedastal truly did betray them. Or they collude in covering it up.

I've seen this more than once in my own life within parishes Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, and Anglican. We laity too often enable, turn a blind eye, refuse to step into our Baptismal responsibility at such times and face the blinding light of day when one of our leaders may have harmed the Body and broken trust. We fail to live out the processes put in place to fairly investigate allegations, insiting upon them, even demanding them, if necessary irrespective of the office in question: lay leader, deacon, priest, bishop, patriarch/pope. Our allowing ourselves to be infantilized within the Body is dangerous to the healthy functioning of the Body. It's time to step up and grow up into our Baptismal responsibility, and face the fact that sometimes, our leaders fail us. That is a part of life and of being a Christian. So is working through the mess.

May God give us the strength to hold our leaders accountable.
May God give us the strength to commit ourselves to the task of being the Church.
May God have mercy on our souls.
Amen.